This year, it somehow happened by itself that manufacturers massively picked up the idea laid down at MWC 2019 and began mass production of smartphones with 5G. Of course, they talked about this before, but somehow it so happened that it was there that almost all manufacturers told something about this technology in relation to the present, and a wave of launching networks and the release of smartphones began. You can burn the towers as much as you want and talk about the danger on YouTube 5G, but soon these networks will be everywhere. The sales statistics for such devices this year are already amazing. Now analysts have said how many 5G smartphones will be sold by the end of the year. I think the figure will surprise you. Personally, I expected more modest results.
The network 5G is sweeping the planet and cannot be stopped. Is it really necessary?
Popularity 5G
The latest research report from Canalys shows that global smartphone shipments 5G in 2020 will be around 280 million. If this figure does not impress you, let's say “more than a quarter of a billion.” In any case, whatever one may say, but it is huge. True, so far this is only a forecast, but if it had been given at the beginning of the year, one could still doubt this. Now there are only three and a half months left and we can safely say that the error will not be huge.
Notably, of these 280 million units, China will be the key player. It is there that, according to analysts, about 62% of all 5G smartphones in the world will be sold. North America will follow China in this indicator. Well, the pandemic is not over yet, so changes are possible, but people are already ready to buy new devices. Moreover, 5G – smartphones are now presented not only in the top segment.
An additional factor behind the growth in sales is the fact that stores are reopening. People can come, touch the gadgets and see if they are worth buying. The lack of such an opportunity stopped many. Especially India, the United States and Brazil, where sales are always high, although they are faced with a new wave of the pandemic, they still open stores to refresh the economy a little.
There are more and more smartphones with 5G.
Smartphone sales
In fact, it also improves logistics and device manufacturing. Smartphone brands will strive to get rid of as many smartphones as possible, both online and offline. This will lead to discounts, which means, again, to an increase in demand.
An additional growth factor will be sales, which traditionally take place in the fall and, of course, the period when everyone buys gifts for Christmas and New Year. All of this should also help smartphone manufacturers in the second half of 2020.
When will smartphones become cheaper?
As it usually happens, technologies are rapidly falling in price. There's even a term like commoditization that fits perfectly into the tech world. This means that new items appear in the most expensive pieces first. Then they gradually lose marketing value. At the same time, the costs of their creation are fought off, and as a result, such technologists descend into the mass segment. Since 5G this has already happened. Especially in the Chinese market, where, for example, this month Realme V3 has already been released and it costs only $ 150. It looks like an ordinary state employee, but he has 5G. This is not even news or rumor, but a real device, which can already be bought on AliExpress.
As you know, Chinese smartphone brands are expanding their presence in other regions. For example, Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and even Latin America. With such prices and this approach, the demand for 5G will snowball. In the end, if people buy up such smartphones en masse, then operators will start fighting for subscribers and pumping their networks. When these networks are working properly, smartphones will sell even better. Yes, what am I telling … So it was with LTE.
Soon it will be possible to touch 5G, like now LTE.
Network development speed 5G
And without this, the operators already understand where everything is going, and on many markets where legal and organizational issues are resolved, networks 5G are developing very rapidly. The global infrastructure 5G is expected to grow even faster in the second half of 2020.
It is noteworthy that the report highlights one interesting fact. About 60% 5G of smartphones in China are expected to cost less than $ 400. It is also expected that next year China will develop infrastructure by 83% 5G.
Despite this rosy outlook for 5G, overall smartphone sales data in 2020 is a bit crumpled. On the one hand, they are not as bad as they could be in the current situation, and on the other hand, sales are forecast to fall by 10.7% in 2020 compared to 2019.
Huawei also tries to do 5G, but it doesn't always work.
Another interesting fact is also noted. According to analysts in Europe in 2020 and 2021, promotion 5G will go much slower than in China and North America. All because of the uncertainty around Huawei, which was the headliner of this direction of telecommunications.
I propose to finish on a positive note. The analyst report indicates that in 2021 we will again see strong growth in smartphone sales. It should be 9.9% at once. This means not only that the market is normalizing, manufacturers will start getting their money again, work calmly and delight us with new products, but also that everything will be fine with us. At least analysts believe that we will change smartphones more often.